Working for the Raptors may be the Canada’s new dream job.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), the parent company of this year’s NBA champions, has come out on top in a ranking of the country’s top-rated workplaces, as measured by employees.
Indeed’s annual survey looked at 1.3 million employee reviews on its company pages to rank companies by worker satisfaction. It largely excludes small businesses, as there needs to be a minimum of 50 reviews for a company to be considered.
MLSE’s rise to the top has been meteoric: It didn’t even place in the top 25 in last year’s ranking. But the excitement at the company must have been building before that June night when the Raps clinched the championship, because the survey looked at reviews from June 2017 to June 2019, cutting off the month of the championship win.
MLSE is Toronto’s professional sports behemoth. It also owns the Maple Leafs and Toronto FC.
“[MLSE is] a great place to work with lots of room for learning,” an unidentified employee told Indeed. “Workplace culture centres around Toronto-centric experiences and it’s nice to feel like you’re a part of the team and adding to that atmosphere.”
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Among other top rankers were Fairmont Hotels, last year’s number-one entrant, and a number of banks ― TD, RBC, CIBC and Desjardins ― that frequently perform well on this survey.
In its report, Indeed said the idea of “employee experience” is becoming more important as companies compete for workers in an increasingly tight labour market.
“As a result, companies are increasingly emphasizing certain aspects that, when combined, offer a top-notch employee experience, including compensation and benefits, work-life balance, culture, management, and job security and advancement,” Indeed said.
“Now more than ever, job seekers are taking these factors into account when looking for their next job.”
As if to illustrate the point, new data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, released this week, shows that Canada’s labour shortage remained at a record high in the second quarter of this year.
There were 429,000 unfilled positions for three months or more in Canada, the CFIB reported. British Columbia and Quebec have the most severe worker shortages, with 3.9 per cent of all jobs unfilled in both places. The two provinces account for nearly half of the unfilled jobs in Canada.
This trend is making employers nervous. A study issued Thursday by staffing agency Robert Half found that 80 per cent of Canadian employers are worried about retaining talent.
And that’s with “good reason,” the company said in its report, because in another survey, it found that fully one-third of respondents are planning to look for a new job in the next year.
Support your employees
If employers want to keep those staffers, they’ll have to raise wages (which is what 51 per cent of respondents want), offer promotions (18 per cent), offer more time off or benefits (16 per cent), or give the employee a new boss (7 per cent). Eight per cent said nothing would make them stay.
“While competitive compensation is still crucial, there are a variety of offerings organizations can provide, such as career development opportunities and extra vacation days, to keep employees happy,” said Robert King, a senior district president for Robert Half, in a statement.
“Ultimately, professionals will stick close to companies who make an effort to encourage their professional growth, recognize their contributions and actively support their wellbeing.”